Muscogee County deputies honored for preventing human trafficking

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — Piedmont Columbus Regional held a notable First Friday Heroes ceremony Tuesday morning. Although it is not Friday, two Muscogee County deputies were honored for their work in preventing two children from human trafficking.

The deputies discovered inmates in the Muscogee County Jail were messaging a registered sex offender in New York through a monitored texting app called Chirp. The inmates planned to kidnap two children for human trafficking and transport them out of state. The deputies’ discoveries were turned over to sheriff’s investigators, who arrested a woman on charges of human trafficking.

Deputy Stephanie Culberson, one of the heroes honored Tuesday morning, tells WRBL that the day began like any other.

“On this particular day, I had received something from corporate Nero that was concerning to him, and he passed it along to me just a bit and see if it was, in fact good information or if it was what he thought it was. And upon further investigation, my lieutenant and I, we determined that it was, in fact, something to be concerned about,” shared Deputy Culberson.

Corporal Maximus Raniero explained how this honor rings true to his calling.

“It really means something that I was able to help two other children because I would want them to do that for my children. And that’s the reason why I do this, because I want to help people,” shared Corporal Raniero.

According to Muscogee County Sheriff Greg Sheriff Countryman, the Muscogee County jail receives between 40 to 60 thousand messages a day. Finding a tip on human trafficking was like finding a needle in haystack.

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